


Kogane Pride

by Ebhenah



Series: Klancemas 2018 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adoption, Christmas, Domestic klance, F/M, Found Family, Hunay kid, Klance Future-Family, Kogane Pride, Lance is super competitive, M/M, Married Klance, Snowball Fight, kids grow up too fast, klance kids, klancemas, parents klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 14:09:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16934709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebhenah/pseuds/Ebhenah
Summary: It's time for the 22nd annual Paladins Snowball War, and once again, Keith and Lance's family makes up an entire team.Written for the Klancemas event by MonthlyKlance on tumblrKlancemas 2018"Kogane Pride"Dec 9: Snowball Fight(A future Klance-Family Fic)





	Kogane Pride

"Alright, we're down, but there's no way we are out! We have a secret weapon," Lance's grin as his eyes lit on 14 year old Talia was positively evil, "Shiro has never been able to bring himself to do anything to make you unhappy and we are sooo gonna make him regret that."

She giggled, eyes glinting mischievously, "what do you need me to do?"

"Can you still cry on cue?" he asked.

"Please," she shot him a look, dislodging the dark hair that fell into her eyes with a huff of breath, "I have FOUR brothers. I will ALWAYS be able to do that."

"That's my girl," Lance gave her a fist bump. "Kashi!" Status update?"

"They've still got Shiro guarding Dad and Rai. Matt's hiding behind the deadfall with Shay. Pidge is up in the trees, though, at… ummm…" the eleven year old held his two hands, palm to palm, in front of him, and keeping the heels together, pivoted the right in jerks, simulating the arms of a clock. "About 2 o'clock… She's got a good line of sight so be careful about getting sniped. I can't see Hunk or Jacob."

"And they said those infrared binoculars were a waste of money," Lance snorted, "excellent intel kiddo."

"We've sooo got this, Papi," assured Lucas, giving him a thumbs up.

"Status update at the jail?" he asked, and Lucas' dark fingers flew over his phone, sending out a text.

"Thace says the Alteans are secure," the 10 year old reported a few moments later, "so, as long as he's not lying so he can make-out with his girrrrrrlfriend, we should be good."

"Hey!" Lance said, face stern, "first of all, don't mock your brother's relationship because he WILL get revenge when you start dating. Second of all, Thace would never jeopardize our winning streak- not even for make-outs with his girlfriend! Kogane Pride- guys! C'mon here!"

"Kogane Pride!" they echoed.

"Damn right! Now- here's the plan…" They huddled and he laid out his plan using little diagrams traced in the snow.

About five years ago, shortly after they'd adopted their fifth kid, adding then five year old Lucas to their family, Keith had figured out that getting captured during their annual snowball war meant getting to hang out on an inflatable hammock-thing and watch his husband shine. No one took this as seriously as Lance, although Pidge and Matt weren't TOO far behind him.

Shiro certainly didn't- which is how he always ended up on jailer duty. Not that Keith minded, it was kind of nice to hang out with his brother (and often his son Rai, who seemed to have a similar strategy about how to handle the whole event to Keith).

"So," Shiro said idly, "how would you handle this if you were him?"

"Hmmm… I think I'd get Thace to scout ahead and try to take Pidge out of the trees- kid's got an arm on him, that's for sure. Then, I'd get Kashi and Lucas to rush Matt and Shay- they are small targets and FAST- while Talia and I tag-teamed the capture and handling Hunk and Joshua. I'd leave Juanita on guard duty- she's still trying to impress the boyfriend's family and would be ruthless. You?"

"I wouldn't even worry about Pidge," Shiro answered easily, "I'd stick to the boundaries- out of her reach. Talia and Thace through the brush in the east. Juanita and Kashi over that rocky path in the west. Try to flank and have one of the smaller kids that got through go for the flag. I'd stay on guard duty, because Coran ALWAYS tries to make a run for it. Lucas would be the decoy."

"Papi won't do either of those things," Rai said with certainty.

"You don't think?" Keith asked, curious about his son's reasoning.

Rai shook his head, "nah- too… uh… not predictable, but like umm.. Classic? I guess? Too much like a military approach. You know what he always says about this thing."

"You mean: I swear to all that is holy, Mullet, if you make us break the winning streak I'm divorcing you?" Keith joked.

"No," Rai answered, deadpan, "snowball war is all about guerilla tactics."

"He threatens to divorce you over the snowball war?" Shiro laughed.

"He threatens to divorce me at least five times a day," laughed Keith, "yesterday he threatened to divorce me because I wanted chinese take-out instead of leftovers from dinner with his folks."

"And then again because you forgot to pick up the streamers for Lucas' birthday party," Rai added helpfully.

"Yeah, that too. Keep in mind, Lucas' birthday party is in a MONTH. Streamers weren't exactly urgent."

Shiro shook his head, "some things never change, huh?"

Keith just smiled, "Lance is always going to be Lance, if that's what you mean."

"Kind of, yeah. So, Rai- what would your tactic be?"

"I'd secure them, but leave the prisoners undefended, because you guys would assume that I'd have someone watching them. Then I would have Talia, Thace, and Papi… or, me I guess, if we are assuming that I was in charge and he was a prisoner… rush the field with a stockpile of balls- real loud and attracting a ton of attention. I'd get Kashi and Lucas to do a purposely bad 'sneak attack' on the west flank. Then I'd have Juanita come through the east in the cover, slow and quiet and take you out from a distance. Free the prisoners, and then have her yoink the flag while the prisoners kept you guys busy."

"That's… bold," Shiro said, half-nodding as he played the scenario through in his head.

"Risky," pointed out Keith, "without someone on the jail, the Alteans are an unknown. Anything could happen."

"Yeah, but it's a snowball fight and I don't care if I win as much as Papi does, so I wouldn't mind rolling the dice and counting on the misdirect and element of surprise." He kicked half-heartedly at the ground and it struck Keith that this might actually be the last year that the snowball war had one entire team made up of his family. The kids were getting bigger, and while Thace was every bit as competitive and rough and tumble as the McClain clan, and would likely be an avid participant well into adulthood, and Talia thrived on the strategy and social aspects of the yearly tradition, Rai was neither especially competitive, nor overly social. It wasn't outside the realms of possibility that next year, he might want to bow out… and if he did, neither Keith nor Lance would press him to take part, they'd just adjust, just like they adjusted as their family had grown over the years.

Reminded of just how grown up his kids were getting- the twins were the same age as Pidge, and Thace the same age as Hunk and Lance had been when they'd become Paladins- Keith slung an arm over his son's shoulders and gave him a squeeze. "Love you, kiddo. Very valid arguments… and your plan is solid. It's daring, sure, but I'd say it's just as likely to work as anything Shiro and I came up with."

"Really?" Rai's eyes lit up and he barely managed to hide his proud smile, because 14 year olds weren't supposed to let on that their parents' opinions mattered to them.

"Yeah," Shiro chimed in, "it's a damn sight better than anything he would have come up with at your age."

"Hey, now!" Keith protested, giving Shiro a shove, "ignore him, Rai. I was sneaky... sneakier than he realizes. He busted me like… less than half the time I did something I shouldn't have."

"What's this now?" Shiro turned on him, breaking out his rusty old 'Space Dad Face' to scowl at Keith.

"Shit!" The yelp sounded pained, its source definitely female. "Oww… fuck… he's gonna kill me…"

Keith's eyes flicked towards the sound, his brow furrowing. Rai and Shiro both sat up a little straighter, Rai staring straight ahead while Shiro looked around.

"Was that Pidge?" Rai asked, eyes lifting to scan the trees.

"Didn't sound like Pidge," Keith answered, "although, given the language, I really hope it isn't your sister. Maybe we need a swear jar…"

"You gave up on the swear jar last time because Papi tried to avoid it by only cursing in Spanish and then Kashi decided to repeat one of his rants to Abuela."

"Yeah- that was BAD." Keith cringed, "I've never seen her so mad."

"Shhh," Shiro hushed them, "listen… I think I hear crying…"

"Talia?" He moved to stand then caught himself at the last second. Technically, he and Rai were 'prisoners'. They weren't restrained in any way, but that was just because Shiro knew neither of them would exploit the rules and make a break for it like SOME people *cough, cough* Coran *cough, cough*.

"I'll check," Shiro said, patting Keith's knee and standing. "I know you won't take off."

"That would be cheating, and as Lance always says, we don't need to cheat to win."

Rai rolled his eyes, "that makes it sound like he totally WOULD cheat if it was the only way he could win."

"Yeahhhh, let's maybe not point that out to your Papi, okay?" Keith chuckled.

Shiro headed toward the noise just as Pidge let out a banshee shriek and the air filled with the soft thuds of snowballs hitting trees and the ground. "Dammit! Little imps are JUST out of range!" Hunk and Lucas popped up from their hiding spots and starting rushing the field, snowballs flying.

Squeals and threats bounced off the trees. It was familiar, this pattern. The snowball wars always started with some good natured volleys, then a burst of activity until each side had a captive or two and retreated behind the fort walls to regroup and strategize. Then a long stretch of little to no activity before one side or the other took the initiative and sent either a feint, or a true advance. They'd been doing this for 22 years now. Every year, the day before New Year's Eve they had their snowball war, followed by a big potluck dinner. The location changed from year to year- sometimes they weren't even on Earth.

"AAAAAAAIIIIIE! It went down the back of my NECK!" squealed Kashi and Keith and Rai grinned at each other.

Keith started counting. Before he even got to ten he felt arms slip around his waist.

"Miss me?" Lance whispered, tugging Keith backwards into his arms and kissing him quickly. "Your knight in shining armor to the rescue- as usual."

"Gross," muttered Rai.

"Sorry bud," Lance chuckled softly, "we've been like this for decades, it's not changing anytime soon. Now, squish in here- selfie time. Gotta have proof that the jailbreak is above board." Rai rolled his eyes, but did as he was told and Lance snapped a pic of the three of them. "Right! Now we ALL duck behind the flagpole. I'll grab the flag and you guys split up, act like you're hiding it and book it. Whoever goes west- veer toward the center entrance to the fort to draw their attention when you hit the second row of blinds, got it?"

They gave him a thumbs up and picked their way through the trees as quietly as they could. Once Lance had grabbed the flag and tucked it into his fist, Keith gave him a quick kiss and he and Rai made a break for it. He ended up being the one on the west. It had less cover, but you could move a lot faster. So, he broke through the cover of the trees first, sending Matt and Shay into action. Shay wasn't the fastest at pitching snowballs, but she had decent aim and when the snowball hit you (which it almost always did) you FELT it. Keith had been left with bruises from one of Shay's hits in the past. Gentle she might be, but she didn't shy away from giving each pitch her all.

He hugged his left arm close to his chest, like he was cradling the flag. He heard screams and shouts behind him as Matt got the attention of the others and they gave up on keeping Kashi at bay. Talia's voice cheering him on made him smile, even though he was sure Shiro was fuming at being duped by 'his favorite girl'- Talia had held a soft place in his heart since before she'd even come home from the hospital, because he knew what it was like to grow up with a genetic disorder diagnosis hanging over you.

He nearly went down when one of Shay's throws hit the back of his knee, but managed to recover, even if it meant he stumbled for a few steps, losing some of his lead. About ten feet before he was ready to cross over the field, Hunk and Shay's son Jacob spotted Rai and let out a scream that Keith was sure could be heard back at the Chalet where Romelle and the other family and friends that were NOT inclined to take part in the war (or in the case of Krolia, sat out this year to make room for Thace's girlfriend to participate) were heating up the food and waiting with mulled apple juice for the kids and more substantial 'defrosters' for the adults. "Keith's a DECOY! It's RAI! RAI HAS THE FLAG!"

Keith knew that Matt was too suspicious by nature to give up his pursuit, but he was moving out of his reach, so Matt's only course of action was to give chase while Shay headed over to the opposite side to try to stop Rai. Keith cut into the field, aiming to dive behind the first row of low snow walls that Lance insisted on calling 'blinds'. He heard Matt curse and there was a short break in the pelting as he got moving, dragging a plastic kid's sled loaded with snowballs behind him. Ammo portability was always an issue with the snowball war and there had been any number of tactics used over the years, but this was Matt's favorite and go-to solution.

The low walls were only about two feet tall, which wasn't a whole lot of cover, but meant that to hit someone crawling or hiding behind them you had to choose between a high underhand toss that would drop onto them, or getting close enough that the angle of the overhead throw would clear the wall and still hit the body behind it. Matt ran, clearly going for the latter option.

Rai was managing to keep just ahead of snowball range of his pursuers. His long legs letting him hop over obstacles pretty easily and his narrow frame and lack of ammo allowing him to weave through the trees. Keith could see the huge grin on his face even from this distance- maybe they had a few more years of Rai on the team, after all- as he belly-crawled behind the walls.

It was Rai's face, and the way his grin shifted to a proper SMIRK that told Keith that Lance was on the move. He 'accidentally' popped up just enough for Matt to spot his location and a few seconds later one of those slow, high underhanded tosses dropped right onto his head. Eventually, he would learn to wear an actual hat instead of just ear-muffs to this thing, but that day wasn't this day and instead he just shook the snow out of his hair and accepted that he'd have that weird creepy-crawly feeling of melting snow making its way down his scalp until they got inside.

He was almost to the center entrance of the fort when someone finally spotted Lance and realized what had happened. It was Pidge- still stuck up in her perch in the tree- and the string of profanity that she let loose could blister a sailor's ear. Time seemed to slow down as everyone turned their attention to his husband, whose long legs were eating up the distance between him and victory with stunning speed.

"Go! Papi! GO!" screamed Rai, letting out his own version of that rooster-crow-howl-hybrid that Lance did in his Lion sometimes. The other team turned, trying to get to Lance, but it was too late.

They knew it was too late.

They tried anyway.

Matt dropped his sled of ammo and just ran at Lance, and was actually gaining on him. Lance was starting to look worried, and he pushed himself, surging forward on a burst of speed that Keith suspected he was going to regret later. Knees weren't nearly as forgiving in your forties as they were in your twenties, and Lance had done a lot of running and fighting since knocking on Blue's particle barrier all those years ago. Matt changed his angle slightly to account for the sudden sprint.

Quiznak! Matt... might actually catch him!

Everyone else seemed to just stop. It was pretty clear that the win would come down to whether Matt managed to get the flag from Lance before Lance got behind the wall of their fort. Out of nowhere there was a battle cry.

"Kogane Pride!" squealed Juanita, who appeared suddenly from behind the seven foot wall to start PELTING Matt with snowballs, one after another, with a speed and accuracy that floored Keith. "MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE MR. MCCLAIN! YOU GOT THIS!"

Keith had liked Thace's girlfriend from the first time he'd met her. Bright, kind, friendly, but kind of quiet- she'd seemed like a good balance to Thace's high energy and nervous chatter. It was only now, seeing Matt falter in his steps from the steady stream of snowballs hitting his shoulders and arms, that Keith remembered that she pitched for the school's baseball team.

Lance disappeared into the fort and everyone went nuts screaming and cheering- some out of happiness, others out of frustration, but it was all good-natured. Keith hopped up and ducked through the central entrance to see Juanita sitting on Thace's shoulders, his arms wrapped around her calves. She mussed his hair and he grinned up at her, and damn that kid was sooooo gone on her. Keith could see it in his son's blue eyes that were so like Lance's, and in the besotted smile the grin faded into that was too much like his own face in any pictures where he happened to be looking at Lance.

"Well done! Once again," Coran clapped a hand on his shoulder, "your family is a formidable opponent."

Keith's eyes caught Lance's as he waved the flag above his head and high-fived Lucas. Lance winked at him and for a split second he didn't see the grey in his hair, or the laugh lines, or the little scar on his temple- he saw the kid that so wanted to win that he flew his Lion right into the surface of a planet. He saw the guy who pulled himself out of unconsciousness and fired off ONE shot that saved them all. He saw the brash, brave, fun-loving, soft-hearted, flirty BLUE Paladin he'd fallen in love with-despite his best efforts not to.

"Yeah," he said to Coran, "we make a good team."

**Author's Note:**

> Remember when Lance said they should have five kids at the end of "Too Quiet"? Yeah, Keith ended up agreeing and they foster-adopted Lucas. 
> 
> Hunk and Shay's son Jacob is also adopted. 
> 
> They are not the only Paladins with families of various stripes, but the others are not taking part in the snowball war for various reasons and so I didn't name any of them.


End file.
